Just as smokers are advised to select and work towards a quit date, the Web site QuitFacebookDay is encouraging frustrated Facebook users to cut the chord with the powerful social networking site on May 31.

Founded by technologist Joseph Dee and systems designer Matthew Milan, QuitFacebookDay is asking prospective ex-account-holders to sign their email or Twitter ID to a pledge list. Monday morning, there were 2,635 "committed Facebook quitters," according to the website, up about 70% from the May 15 count of 780.

"For a lot of people, quitting Facebook revolves around privacy. This is a legitimate concern, but we also think the privacy issue is just the symptom of a larger set of issues," wrote Milan and Dee. "The cumulative effects of what Facebook does now will not play out well in the future, and we care deeply about the future of the web as an open, safe and human place. We just can't see Facebook's current direction being aligned with any positive future for the web, so we're leaving."

Full story: InformationWeek